Mantras
Mantras is the homeworld of the Mantrassians. It is situatated on the Scutum-Centaurus Arm of the Milky Way. It lies about 20,000 lightyears from Galactic Core Zone. The planet fills the roll that a gas giant does in most star systems, being of a fairly high gravity and a thick atmosphere. As such, the surface of Mantras is covered in craters, though the jungle covers these scars fairly quickly. The jungle is a major contributer to the thick atmosphere, as many of the trees create various gases as a byproduct of their life functions. These gases are toxic to most non-native creatures, and must be filtered out if said creatures are not to perish. Mantras is covered in dense swamp-jungle, which is sometimes broken by swaths of grassland. Volcanic activity has been responsible for the creation of numerous moutain chains, as well as the burning of large sections of jungle. The fauna on Mantras is mostly amphibians and arthropods, with a significant amount of birds as well. Orbit Mantras has two moons, Venn and Trekttt. Trekttt is much larger than Venn, as Venn appears to be more of a captured asteroid than an actual moon. Trekttt has been terraformed by the Mantrassians, and is now habitable by them. Atmosphere Mantras's atmosphere is a concotion of methane, oxygen, and nitrogen. But Mantras is also home to a profusion of plants that generate different types of gases as a byproduct of their metabolisms, resulting in large swaths of land that have different gas mixtures. This fact has caused all land-dwelling fauna to adapt to metabolize any organic or pseudo-organic gas. Otherwise they would suffocate at every change of the wind or plant life. The pressure of the thick atmosphere creates the ability for large creatures to fly without difficulty from the high gravity. The clouds of Mantras also come in varied colors due to the different gases that form them. This also leads to amazing sun rises and sun sets, as the light filters through the varying layers of gases that surround the planet. Climate Geography Mantras has no true oceans, only large areas of bog. The higher areas are covered in grassy plains and scrub forests. These areas are called Great Clearings by Mantrassians, and are home to a drastically different species set than the Swamp-jungles. The tectonic plates of Mantras are still quite active, creating magnificent volcanoes and mountain ranges. Ecosystem There are a diverse number of species on Mantras. The majority of them live in the jungles, whitch leads to layering in species diversity. The larger creatures tend be the ones that live in or near the swampy ground level. There are exceptions, the Giant Mantrasian Condottt being one of the most spactaular. The next level up is the high-reeds, this section is mostly inhabited by small, light creatures, and those that can fly with great accuracy. Next is the trunk side level, where the animals get a bit larger again. Most of the creatures in the trunk side are quite specialized, and cannot live anywhere else. The canopy is the highest, and the most complex, level in the swamp-jungle, home to much of Mantras's life-forms. This is also the level the Mantrassians inhabit. The grasslands are home to most of Mantras's mammals. The grasses on Mantras have grown to large proportions, overshadowing some of the smaller tree species. The mountains are home to the same general life-form set as the swamp-jungles, though adapted to the cold of the peaks. Even the volcanos have certain unique species asociated with them, each with a slightly different group, much like Gaea's oceanic black smokers. Types of flora Types of terrestrial creatures All of the land-dwelling creatures of Mantras are well muscled, built to withstand the high gravity of their home planet. Many do not have the stocky structure of many high-gravity creatures, instead relying on hollow bones to reduce their mass, or on native lighter-than-air gases to support them. Some of the larger animals depend on the swamp to support them, much like whales. Flight evolved in many of the Mantrasian animal families, as the thick atmosphere helps hold them up. Jumping, on the other hand, is not a very common evolutionary device, as it is made difficult by the high gravity. *Repto-phibs - Animals with scaly or scute covered skin that lay hard eggs on land. Mature specimens have gills to breath in water. *Avians - Animals with asymetric feathers, with some modified for flying. They also commonly have beaks. The avians on Mantras have thick, hollow bones. *Arthropods - A versatile animal with a chitinous exoskeleton. The most evolved arthropods, the deltapeds, have evolved to great heights on Mantras, becoming the most diverse group on Mantras. *Medusae - Mantras is home to terrestrial jellyfish and other medusae that use lighter-than-air gases to move about. *Bog swarms - Small invertabrates that have a tough outer shell, small biting or sucking mouth-parts, and large eyes. Most congrogate in large groups. *Mammals - A specialized group of animals with fur. Most hunt small arthropods. Population Mantras is home to only one native race, the Mantrassians. Native races *Mantrassian - A race of deltapeds with large wings and a set of hinged, barbed claws at their wrist joints. Non-native races *Delta Runners - A synthetic race, built for agility. One of the Nano's robo-plagues. Travel warnings Mantras's atmosphere is toxic to most non-native races. A rebreather or other gas filtering device is required, otherwise non-natives will eather die of poisoning or suffocation. The world is higher gravity than most races are used to. Cold acclimated races will also find Mantras uncomfortable, as tempuratures rarely drop below 65°F. The planet's surface is mostly covered in swamp or other soggy ground, making the use of non-hovering ground vehicles ill-advised. Category:Planets Category:Articles by User:Piminy